


The Rose

by 100demons



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Bechdel Test Pass, Female-Centric, For Science!, Gen, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-14
Updated: 2013-08-14
Packaged: 2017-12-23 11:56:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/926116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/100demons/pseuds/100demons
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zoe could still remember a schoolyard rhyme about the Walls, sung by little girls linked arm in arm to form three swaying circles, a living representation of the white walls that kept the Titans away.</p><p>Lady Maria, fair and tall<br/>First in line, first to call</p><p>Lady Rose, big and white<br/>Guards us all, shining bright</p><p>Lady Sina, royal and true<br/>Shelters king and noble blue</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Rose

Zoe could still remember a schoolyard rhyme about the Walls, sung by little girls linked arm in arm to form three swaying circles, a living representation of the white walls that kept the Titans away.

_Lady Maria, fair and tall  
First in line, first to call_

_Lady Rose, big and white  
Guards us all, shining bright_

_Lady Sina, royal and true  
Shelters king and noble blue_

The irony of it all gave her a splitting headache.

“Sir?”

Zoe turned away and towards the officer saluting her, eyes dark with concern. “At ease,” she said and started to make her slow way down the street. Her ribs ached with every step, a throbbing that pulsed in counterpoint to her heartbeat. She felt like an empty tin can with two pebbles rattling inside of her, leaving little dents in the sides.

“Sir, I have orders to bring you down on a litter--” The officer, walking hurriedly in order to catch up, nearly ran her over when Zoe stopped to catch her breath and admire the nest of starlings on the roof above her.

“Litter?” Zoe shook her head. “I’d rather not.”

“But--”

Zoe gave him a very pleasant smile. The officer paled a little and took a step back. Zoe continued walking, noting the fresh cobblestones laid on the streets and the happy, if a little strained, smiles of those around her. If she hadn’t been there to see the female-type Titan and Eren’s brawl firsthand, she would have never known that it had happened just a few short weeks ago. Appearances, she was beginning to find out, meant more than she could possibly guess.

Houses in the Capital were built to be beautiful, with large glass windows and balconies overlooking the street. Flowers in the royal blue dotted every window, lace curtains draped demurely over them to provide privacy. Zoe stopped in front of one such house, its door painted a bright red, and knocked on the wood.

It swung open, revealing a sour-looking woman with yellow hair piled neatly on her head. She squinted up at Zoe, hands on her hips.

“I’ve heard about your delicious cakes,” Zoe said and nodded respectfully.

“Fresh out of the oven,” the woman returned, mouth twisting, and stepped aside, holding the door open. Zoe obliged, risking a quick look behind to check that the officer tailing her had settled into his position, a tiny orange blob on the roof across the street. He was only visible if one looked up, and Zoe was of the opinion that most people rarely did.

The door shut behind her with a firm click.

They had entered an ordinary looking sitting room, one wall lined with books. There was tea set out on a low table, enough for two, half-eaten biscuits scattered about on a plate.

“You have it good here,” Zoe observed, pressing a hand against her side.

Rico snorted and stomped down the hallway in wooden clogs, footsteps loud enough to echo throughout the house. Zoe followed at a much slower pace, entering the bedroom Rico had tramped into just in time to see her pull open a trapdoor.

“Impressive.”

“Only the best, courtesy of Smith and Pixis.”

Zoe made her way closer, spying a rickety looking ladder connecting the house to the darkness below. “But I have to say, I’m more impressed that they managed to get you in a dress.”

Rico smiled at Zoe, showing more teeth than was considered polite. “You should see what I have on underneath.”

 

* * *

 

Her nose was too large for her to be considered conventionally attractive but she was beautiful nonetheless, with full, lush lips and a delicate splatter of freckles. It was difficult to tell through the thick crystal coating, but Zoe imagined she had the long, thick lashes to go with her arched brows.

Zoe hefted the hammer in her hands and swung at the subject’s face.

The room echoed with a single, clear note, deep and round as a church bell. Zoe staggered from the aftershock and dropped the hammer head first, its steelhead coated with diamonds plundered from the royal treasury.

Keiji popped up from behind the table he’d set on its side as a temporary fortress. “Shall I mark that as negative?”

Zoe leaned forward, peering at the subject’s face. Not a single mark on it. “Looks like it,” she said. She fished out a magnifying glass from a hip pouch and held it up against the surface. “More light.”

A hiss as a match was lit and a lantern pointed her way, mirrored backing gleaming bright and clear. Not even a scratch. Zoe wished she could scrape a little bit off and study the composition under a microscope but it seemed less and less likely with every attempt.

“Tea break,” she announced and tucked the glass away. The lantern winked out and Zoe hobbled over to Keiji’s overturned table, settling herself onto a stool with three stumpy legs. Tea appeared magically at her elbow and Zoe accepted it with both hands. They were still trembling.

“You shouldn’t push yourself,” Keiji said, putting down the tray and picking up his own mug.

“Hm,” Zoe said, not bothering to come up with any real response. “What day is it again?”

“Two days until we have to submit a report.”

Zoe sipped. “Well. I think I can come up with a four word report for you: unbreakable as of yet.”

“Another four: high hopes for future.”

“The final four: send more money please.”

The lantern flickered in the wake of their laughter, shadows dancing eerily over the marks on the wall.

 

||||| ||||| ||||| ||| DAYS IN HELL

 

* * *

 

_There was once was a very poor woman who lived with her daughter in a forest, a place where many trees grow together in the world Outside. Every day, the daughter went outside and collected firewood to bring home, while the woman worked on her garden. Once, when the little girl had walked a very long way from home to collect wood, another little child appeared and helped her, and then before a moment had passed, disappeared._

_The little girl ran all the way home to tell her mother, who thought it a pretty story but a story nonetheless. Every day the girl left to collect firewood, the strange little child helped and the little girl begged for proof that she could show her mother. The girl returned home with a load of firewood and a beautiful rose, and told her mother that her strange friend would return when the rose was in full bloom._

_The mother thought it another pretty story, but put the rose in a bowl in a bowl of water. Many days passed and on one bright morning, her daughter did not rise when she called for her. The mother went to the bed and found her sleeping peacefully, a smile on her face. She did not wake no matter how her mother cried. On that very morning, the rose in the bowl was in full bloom._

Zoe closed the book, unhooked the strap of her glasses and rubbed at tired eyes. Above, she could hear Rico tramping around in her damned wooden clogs, clip clopping like a merry little horse. The crystal was cool to the touch, sticking against Zoe’s sweaty cheek.

“Folklore brought by the first of humanity’s remnants, rushing into what seemed like a sanctuary gifted by the heavens. Household tales and superstitions, pixies and sprites and forest tales all mashed together in the form of bedtime stories to read to children.” Zoe closed her eyes, the edge of her book poking her stomach uncomfortably. She was too tired to move it.

“Did your Father tell you these stories?”

Zoe had read the subject’s file so often that it was ingrained in her memory. “Or did he tell you stories about the Walls? Lady Maria, so fair and tall. Lady Rose, so big and white. Lady Sina, royal and true.” She ran her tongue over her cracked lips.

“Did he turn you into this?”

A little girl-child, fair haired and freckled, her nose too big for her face. Zoe imagined those tiny fists curled up and held up against her chest, whipping out in a quick one-two. “Did he, Annie? Tell me, what did he teach you?” Zoe slammed her fist against the crystal. “Did he teach you to hide away from the world? Did he?” She struck it over and over again, not even noticing when the surface grew slick and wet from her blood.

“Sir, sir, please-- Zoe!”

Stars scattered across her vision, blue white bursts of light flowering and dying in the same moment. Zoe curled up into a tight ball, cradling her fist to her chest. Her mouth moved under its volition, a beast with a mind of its own. A guttural chant emerging from her throat:

“Annie, Annie, Annie...”

**Author's Note:**

> fairytale adapted from _the rose_ from the grimm brothers' collection


End file.
